Process for treating meats



Oct. 13, 1959 LE ROY R. HAWK ETAL PROCESS FOR TREATING MEATS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 26, 1957 we vv mm mm mm OQNM QOWN OOMN INVENTOR. Leroy R.Howk, Dave Eolkin Roberf P.Smith a: Robert L.Tombini Oct. 13, 1959 LE ROY RHAWK ETAL Filed Afig. 26, 1957 PROCESS FOR TREATING MEATS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (COOK TEMP COOL TEMP) United S a fl 19118577" PROCESS FOR TREATING NIEATS Le Roy R. HawKHayward, and DayeEolkin, Robert P. I I'Sniitmand RohertiL Tanrhini, San Lorenzo, Calif., assignors to Gerber Products" Company, Fremont, Mich a corporation of Michigan Application August 26, 1957, Serial No. 680,107 11 Claims. etra-r81) invention reiates to a new and improved process for treating ine'ats, Reference is made to co-pen'ding applicationot Le lieyR. Hawk, Dave EOlkiii and Robert P. Smith, Serial'l No, 511,644, filed May 27, 1955, for Processifor Treating Meatsf" now abandoned. Referenceiis also nrade to Patent No.2,753 ,269' of said Hawk and said Eo'lkin, with which application Serial No. 511,644 was copending:

One of the problems encountered in the preparation of strained meat is the lack of stability of such products in the sense of liquid-solid separation when the product has been subjected to relatively high tem erature storage, with or without. the agitation associated with transportati'on and handling. The present invention materially improves such stability and constitutes an improvement'in the art; I 1

The present invention eompris espresterilization heat heannentf 9f strained meat at higher temperature than has heretofore been employed in order to stabilize the resultant product. The terms, pres'terilization temperature and presterilization heat, as used herein, refer to heat application prior to retorting. Presterilization heat treatment is followed by rapid evaporative cooling. Onef theife'atures of the. invention resides in the wide al temperature ofthe' evaporag ,and fthe final temperature of evaporative cooling which has an: importantefiect upon the stability of th'e product, all as hereinafter more fully appears. After the product has been packed in containers and sterilized, itis'foundthat the liquid does not separate from the'solid phase to an undesirable extent despite prolonged stora'ge'at' temperatures ranging as high as 130 F. and after "ubjection to agitation encountered by transportation and handling (Sf-the product.

Heret'ofore strained meats of the types which are the subject of invention have been heat-processed at prest'erilization temperatures not over 240 F. It has been found in the past that the stability of the product, after retortiiig and cooling, increases as the presterilization temperature is increased until a peak is reached, whereupon the stability declines or inverts. Heretofore it has been thought undesirable to heat the product at presteriliz'a'tiontemperatures higher than that at which the stability of the resultant product begins to fall Oil. How- F. to 320 F. for, veal and"257 F. to 320 F. for beef. Above 320 F. carbonization is likely to occur. It has been foilnd that stabilitvof the product is thereupon considerably higher than when the product is heated in the lower presterilization temperature. range which was formerly considered to be the limit beyond which stability decreased. One of the measures of the stability of the product is the'japparent viscosity thereof, the apparent viscosity and stability being generally comparable. The apparent viscosity of the resultant product is a measure of the denaturat'ion' of the protein content, and accordever, accordance with the principles of the present invention; thef'produc't is heated at a high range of prest'erilization "temperatures between approximately 280 2,908,577 Patented Oct. 13, 1959 2. ingly increase in apparent viscosity acteristic of strained infants meats.

The apparent viscosity and denaturation of the resultant product are closely related to the stability thereof. Instability of product is characterized by liquid-solid separation in the slurry and a drop in the apparent viscosity of the slurry. j

Another feature of the invention is the fact that the duration'of holding the product at the elevated highp'r'esterilization temperature range heretofore referred to does not seem to affect the product materially, provided the product is uniformly heated.

A particular feature and advantage of this invention relates to the control of stability of the product by control of what we have denominated the degree of flash of the product. By the latter term, we refer to the differential between the initialand final temperatures when the presterilized product is subjected to rapid evaporative cooling. Whereas when products which have been presterilized at conventional temperatures are subjected to evaporative cooling, the stability decreases with the increase in degree of flash, in accordance with the present invention, when the presterilization is conducted at elevated temperatures, the greater the degree of flash, the greater the stability of the product. h

Accordingly, the present invention contemplates the presterilization of meat slurry at a high temperature, as hereinafter defined, and then the evaporative cooling of the product with a high degree of flash. The stability of the product is greatly enhanced by this treatment.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the several views.

In'the drawings: Fig. l is a schematic flow sheet showing equipment which may be used in carrying out the process;

is a; desirable char- Fig. 2 is an illustrative graph showing the apparent viscosity inversion of veal F. and below 320 F. I Fig. 3 is a graph showing the stability of beef for different degrees of products presterilized atdilferentv pre sterilization temperatures. I i

We have discovered that: when strainedmeat is heated above the normal range of presterilization temperatures, the stability and apparent viscosity drops olf sharply, to be followed, after temperature is increased, by an inversion or increase of stability or apparent viscosity to thus produce a better and more stable end product (see Fig. 2). We have found that heating veal slurry in the range of 280 F. to 320 F. is productive of the improved product of this invention. Stated differently, heating the strained veal to a temperature above the last apparent viscosity inversion below 320 F. is resultant in a new and improved strained veal having better stability than heretofore. 7

The term apparent viscosity as used herein means a measure of the thixotropic strained meat productmeasabove approximately 240 ured in viscosity in centipoise, BrookfieldZO rpm. with all samples stirred before analysis. It is recognized that the term is not exact butis the best presently lgnown measure of the'character of the product in terms of viscosity. H

The present invention also is concerned with the treatment of other ineats, such as, for example, strained beef. The problems of stability of strained beef are not as severe as in the case of strained veal. Nevertheless, the process which is the subject of this invention improves the stability of beef as well as veal.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the equipment which may be used in connection with this invention is subject to certain modifications and variations, as will occur to one skilled in the food processing art. The equipment hereinafter described is illustrative of certain equipment which has been found desirable. i The meat and a suitable proportion of water are deposited in batches in mixer 11 and thence periodically deposited in hopper 12. From hopper 12 the product is fed through a positive action pump 13, such as a Moyno pump, into an agitating heater 14, which may be of the type disclosed in Hawk Patent No. 2,492,635 wherein a substantially instantaneous elevation of temperature is accomplished by direct injection of steam and a thorough mixing of the steam and meat. The purpose of heater 14 is to preheat the meat in order to make it more suitable for milling. The equipment for raising the temperature of the mixture or the temperature to which it is raised is not considered to be'critical. In tests conducted underthe supervision of applicants, the mixture was heated to around 190 F. and within the range of 190 F. to 205 F. By such preheating, the viscosity is decreased, the mixture is more easily pumped and less power is required for the subsequent milling operation inasmuch as raw meat requires considerably more power for milling than does cooked meat. Further, the gristle, etc. shrinks and becomes tougher and more easily broken by the milling operation after such heating. After preheating, the product is passed through a comminutor mill 16 where it is comminuted through a perforated screen having holes .031 inch in diameter or less. The milled product is then pumped by means of pump 17 into a surge tank 18, where it is stirred by stirrer 19. The elapsed time for heating and grinding was approximately 15 to 20 minutes. A total solids check as run while the product was held in tank 18 at about 205 F., consuming 20 to 30 minutes.

From surge tank 18 the meat slurry may be forced by means of pump 21 through valves 22 and 23 for a first pass through homogenizer 24. It has been found that pump 21 is desirable in that it reduces the problems of feeding homogenizer 24 by its own suction. The pressure of homogenization is not considered critical, inasmuch as the homogenizer 24 isused primarily to maintain a positive flow through the second agitating heater 26. A pressure of 1500 p.s.i.g. in homogenizer 24 has been found satisfactory, but such pressure is not critical so long as it is greater than that exerted by the homogenizer feed pump 21. e

The slurry discharged from homogenizer 24 passes through valve 27 into second agitating heater 26 of the same type as heater 14 wherein it is heated under extreme agitation by direct injection of steam to the range of presterilization temperatures desired. Steam at 125 p.s.i.g. is introduced into heaters 14 and 26. A pressure of 100 p.s.i.g. is maintained therein and also in holding coil 28. It is believed that the heating of the finely divided meat particles while under extreme agitation to the optimum temperature range produces the desired texture, consistency and stability of the final product. The agitation prevents the particles from sticking together during heating.

From the agitating heater 26 the product passes through holding coil 28 in which the product is held at the desired temperature. The length of time of holding has not been found to be critical within the range of to 120 seconds. Times of greater than 120 seconds require lengths of holding coils which are not commercially practicable.

A back pressure valve 29 is installed beyond holding coil 28 to maintain the slurry at a pressure greater than the vapor pressure of the product at its existing temperature. From the back pressure valve 29 the product discharges into flash chamber 31 or vacuum cooling chamber operated at pressure ranging from 125 mm. of mercury down to 56.6 mm. of mercury. The pressure is reduced rapidly to reduce the temperature to a range of F. to 220 F. Vapor is continuously removed from chamber 31 through line 32 leading to a tubular condenser 33 evacuated by a pump 34. The degree of flash in chamber 31 is an important feature of the invention, as hereinafter appears.

It is desirable from the standpoint of consumer acceptance that the product be then subjected to a second homogenization step to improve the appearance of the final product, although such homogenization does not materially affect the stability'of the product. After retorting, the product which has not been subjected to the second homogenization step appears to the eye to be coarse and hence consumer acceptance of the material is enhanced by the second homogenization. Such step may be carried out with pressure of 3500 p.s.i.g. To accomplish such second homogenization using the same homogenizer 24, cooled product from chamber 31 is pumped by pump 36 through valve 37 to a storage tank 38 stirred by stirrer 39 and thence through valve 22, pump 21 and valve 23 to homogenizer 24 where it passes through valve 27 to tank 41 stirred by stirrer 42. From tank 41 the product is drawn by pump 43 through valve 44 to filler 46 where it is filled into containers 47. It will be .appreciated that where two homogenizers are conveniently available, a straight line flow of product may be designed. The containers are then retorted' or otherwise sterilized in accordance with conventional cannery practice, as for 75 minutes at 240 F. i

Where second homogenization is eliminated, pump 3 draws product from chamber 31 through valve 37 to holding tank 48 stirred by stirrer 49 and whence it is pumped by pump 51 to filler 46.

In order to compare the results obtained by practice of the instant invention with results obtained by other processes, examples are hereinafter set forth showing experiments conducted with strained veal and strained beef.

STRAINED YEAL- I Examples 1A and 1B One thousand pounds of veal were ground through a common meat grinder and 50 pounds of water and 4.25 pounds'of salt were added to the batch. The batch was mixed in mixer 11 and then transferred to hopper 12 and pumped by pump'13 to heater '14 where it'was heated substantially instantaneously by steam injection to 205 F. The heated slurry was finely ground through comrninutor 16 equipped with a perforated screen of a diameter of '.033 inch. At this stage the batch weight was 1,173 pounds, indicating the addition of condensed steam during the heating cycle weighing 123 pounds. A total solids test was made and found to be 23.8 percent. Accordingly, 216 pounds water was added at tank 18 to reduce the total solids to approximately 19 percent. After solids adjustment, the temperature in tank 18 was Fahrenheit and this temperature fell during holding time to 164 Fahrenheit after the material had been pumped from tank 18 to homogenizer 24. In Examples 1A and 1B slurry was heated in the heater 26 to 230 Fahrenheit, plus or minus 5 Fahrenheit, held for approximately 10 seconds in coil 28 and then discharged through valve' 29 to flash chamber 3 1 and instantaneously reduced to 210 F. The slurry'was then pumped from chamber 31 by means of pump 36 to tank 48 and thence to filler 46. The total solids content was 18.15 percent. The above procedure was subsequently repeated with a variation in the process that more water was added to the initial raw meat batch at mixer .11 and less water added in tank 18. The final product contained 19.6 percent solids.

In order to measure the stability of the product, samples were taken immediately after retort processing, which samples are shown in IA and then second samples were taken after ten days storage, which are shownin Example lB. Testing of the samples was as follows: The samples were placed in aCenco shaker in a131, F. in-

cubator and; Y shaken for two hours at' a 'dial setting on thespeed' control-of 6. second group ofsalnples was heldin a 100 F, incubator during the period while the first group was being tested: The second group was subjected to shaking'in a 131 F. incubator after the first group, had been filtered. After shaking the samples were opened and dumped into a funnel lined a 24 cm". No. 1 2 ,Whatman fluted filter'paper. The amount of filtrate was noted at the end of a 15 minute period. As expressed Hereinafter, the filtrate is measured in cc. per 3 /2 oz. container.

The averagefil'tra'tion result obtained was 22.7 cc. immediately after retorting process (Example 1A) and after ten days storage the average was 2-1.3 cc. (Example 1B). It will be noted, therefore, that" in Examples 1A and 1B, which were processed at a presterilization temperature below the critical range which the subject of this. invention,v that the filtrate 'washigh as compared with examples hereinafter set forth.

(In the following examples, the numeral followed by the letter A indicated samples tested after retorting whereas the numeral followed by the letter B- indicatesamples taken after ten days storage at 131 F, but otherwise identical with the A samples.)

Examples 2A and 23 The next pairof duplicate runs was made exactly as in Examples and dB except; that the-product was flashed in chamber 31 tq 100 Fahrenheit instead of 210 Fahrenheit. Total solids content of the two finished samples was 19.1'6perc'ent and 20.14 percent respectively. The average filtration result immediately" after retorting was 11.5fm. (Example 3A) and 12.7 cc. (Example 313) p p Duplicate runs were made exactly the some'zisExamples; 3A and 313 except the final product was homogenizedfia-t 3500-pounds pressure after flashing- Total solids content was 19.16 percent and 18.65 percent, respectively. Average filtration Was 14.8 cc. (Example- 4A) and 14.6gcc. (Example. 4B) These examples show that high pressure homogenization after flashing, increased the fltrate figure slightly, indicating less stability than in the comparison between Examples 1A and 1B and 2A Y Examples! and 53 l Duplicate test runs were prepared in the same manner as previous examples except that the veal slurry was heated in heater 26 to 300 P1,. held' seconds. and flashed in chamber 3 1 "to 210": F. without, furtherhomogernza'ti'on. Finafprodhct' contained, 19.66 percent and 19.02 percent total solids. Average filtrate was 6.9 cc. immediately after retonting (Example 5A); After ten "daysthe filtrate was 8.4' cc.(Exarnple 5B). These;ex-

amples" show extreme decrease in volume of filtrate ob- J tained, indicating. gr'eatenstability' when thepresteriliza' tion-temperature-is raised to3005li. n

I Examples-1 6A. ,andioB 'Iihewtwos previous. runs were repeated under the same 6 conditions, but the-product was-homogenized at 3500 pounds pressure previous to tfillixigi T'otal solidsco ntent was 19.57 percent 'and'l8.74 percent, respectively; Average volume of filtrate immediately after retorting was 10. 4 cc. (Example 6A)" and the average after ten days was 12.7 cc. (Examplei6B'). These tests showed that homogenization increased the filtrate, indicating reduced stability. 1 Examples 7A and 7B Duplicate runs were made-by heating in the agitating heater to 300 F., holding 10 seconds and flashing to 100 F. Total solids was 19 .-28. percent and 19.81 percent. Average filtrate was 4.4 cc. (Example 713;) and 4.4 cc. (Example 7B). The efiect of flashing thematerial to 100 F. compared to 2 10 F. in Examples 5A and 5B increased stability to a marked degree.

Examples 1 8A and 8F Runs: 7A and 7B were repeated; except that the prodnot was homogenized at 3500 poundspressure before filling. Total solids was 18.86 percent and 19.24 percent. Average volume of filtrate was 3*.3 cc. (Example 8A) and 5.5 cc. (Example 813). stability due to-homogenizing. v V

extended run Was made following the-procedure given in Examples 8A and 8B- consisting of six 1000 pound batches of veal. One alteration in processing conditions was made in that the flash temperature was 5135 F.,v since flashing to 100 F. resulted insuch viscosity as caused ;difliculty in pumping and the product. The average total solids content. for the 6000 pounds of product inn was 18.93 percenh The average filtrate immediately after retorti-ng 312cc. and after ten days, 4.2 ce. run resulted in a very stable product as compared to the conventional described in Examples 2A and V Although strained beef does not show diiferences in filtrate test comparable to veal by reason of the fact that beef is inherently quite stable, nevertheless improvement i stability was: obtained by praetieeof the instant invention. In formulation, to each' 1000pound batch of ground beef, approximatelyZ'FS' pounds of- Weterwas added and 4% pounds of salt. The ground beef was preeooked' through agitating; heater 14-te'205 -F.,

then pumped tocomminutor 16 and finely ground through a'.O'3- i-nehscreen. The finely ground slurry was then pumped through homogenizer Z4 and heater 26, held ten seconds in coil 28- at 100 p.s.i.g. and flashed in chamber $1. runs were homogenized through homogenize'r at- 3500 pounds pressure just prior to filling; since the final texture of the product was not desirable without the homogenizing step.

I Examples 9 [012 v Four batches were from heater 26 at which they were heated to- 230 and flashed chamber 31 to 210, 170, 135 and 100 -F.,'respective1y. The total solidscontenti 18%8'6, 18.8 2 20.41 18.92 percent, respectively;- The average volume or filtrate obtained immediately atter retorting (Examples 91am 12A) was 4.05, 4.9, 8.45 and 12.95 cc. per 3% ounce jarsigg'respectively. A-fter ten days storage the-average; volume of 2. 2 ed, 5.7- and103 ca. Thus, at a preste'ri' anon temperatureor 230- it a ears the greater the degree of hash incharnher 31,-the less stable the'fina'l' product.

Examples 13 to 16 F-our batches were runwith heat treatment at Z S7 F. -a1'1cl flashed to 210; l7", 13'5" F. The total sblids-contentwas' 18.89; 18 .75, 18229 and 18.85" percent, respectively. The average'volume' of filtrate immediately after rezoning: (Exam les 16A to 1 6A) was 3135, 1.45,

There was little change in process 0.95 and 1.55 cc. Samples were tested after ten days storage but no test was run on product flashed to 210. The average volumes obtained on batches 14B, 15B and 16B at 170 F., 135 F. .and 100 F. respectively, were 1.55, 1.08 and 2.3 cc. The volume of filtrate was less than in the series of Examples 9 to 12 and the best result was obtained at 257 F. with a 135 F. flash. In general, heat treatment at 257 F. was superior to 230 F.

Examples 17 to 20 This series of batches was heated to 284 F. and flashed to 210, 170, 135, and 100 F., respectively. The total solids-content was 19.27, 18.73, 19.13, and 18.96 percent, respectively. Average volume of filtrate immediately after retorting (Examples 17A to 20A) was .75, 2.5, 3.9 and 2.65 so, respectively. After ten days storage (Examples 17B to 20B) filtrate volume was 0.58, 0.95, 1.15 and 1.38 cc.,respectively. Quantity of filtrate was less than in the series of Examples 9 to 12, but greater than in series 13 to 17. Stability appeared to improve after ten days storage in this series.

Examples 21 to 24 Four runs were made with heat treatment to 311 F. and flashed to 210, 170, 135 and 100 F., respectively. However, flashing to 135 F. was eliminated, due to difficulty with equipment. Total solids content of examples at 210,170 and 100 F. was 18.69, 19.02 and 18.14 percent, respectively, and the volume of filtrate immediately after retorting (Examples 21A, 22A, 24A) was 7.1, 4.4 and 4.45 cc. respectively. After ten days storage (Examples 21B, 22B, 243), the average volume of filtrate was 5.35, 1.89 and 3.12 cc., respectively. A slight improvement was noted after ten days, but the series shows slightly less stability than 234 treatment.

The foregoing tests on beef show that 257 heat treatment produces a more stable product, but none of the runs produced what could be interpreted as an extremely unstable product.

Examples 25, 26 and 27 H A series of three batches was run to determine the effect of solids content of the slurry. All three batches were heated-to 311 F. and flashed to 100 F. Total solidscontent was 17.09, 16.01 and 14.97 percent, respectively, and the average volume of filtrate obtained immediately after retorting (25A, 26A, 27A) was 7.05, 8.3 and 3.7 ccl, while after ten days storage (Examples 25B, 26B, 27B) the average was 6.78, 6.16 and 3.14 cc., respectively. These examples show that even with the total solids content as low as 15 percent, the product was quite stable in the above combination of heating and cooling.

On the accompanying Fig. 3, the results of examples in the treatment of beef are plotted in a graph. The ordinates of the graph show the filtrate expressed in milliliters. Increase in filtrate indicates decrease in stability. The abscissa of the graph show the degree of flashthat is, the difference between the temperature of the product entering and leaving the chamber 3 1. Line A on the graph shows the results of Examples 9A, A, 11A and 12A, whereas line B shows the results of- Examples 9B, 10B, 11B and'12B.

It will be seen that except at the extreme left side of .the graph, the product when presterilized at 230. F. is

less stableafter retorting than after storage for ten days.

It also appears that increase in the degree of flash ma terially decreases the stability of the product. Generally, the stability of product when processed at 230 F. is poor as compared with other examples.

Line C on the graph plots the results given in Examples 13A to 16A, whereas line D plots ,the results given in Examples 13B to 16B. It will be seen that in the range of 257 F. presterilization stability is materially improved over presterilization in the range of 230 F.

except at the extreme left side of the graph. Line E plots the result of Examples 17A to 20A, whereas line F shows the result of Examples 17B to 20B. Line G shows the result of Examples 21A to 24A and lineH shows the result of Examples 21B to 24B. It is thus seen that in the range 257 F. to 311 F. (curves C to H) considerable improvement in stability results, as compared with the range at 230 F. and it will further be seen that generally in the range 257 F. to 311 F. there is improvement in stability upon increasing the degree of flash, whereas a directly contrary result might be anticipated from the curves A and B. Accordingly, using the greatest degree of flash economically possible for meat products which have been heat treated as above set forth prior to sterilization in accordance with this invention pro duces the most stable product. Optimum results are obtained when a preseterilization heat treatment temperature of about 284 F. is employed, which is materially higher than the temperatures presently used commercially by others.

What is claimed is:

1. A process of preparing a food product which comprises forming a slurry of comminuted meat and water, and heating the slurry to a presterilization temperature above the last apparent viscosity inversion thereof and below carbonization temperature for a time interval of between 10 and 120 seconds.

2. A process according to claim 1 and wherein the product is cooled to the range of F. to 220 F. after presterilization heating, and then retorted.

3. A process according to claim 1 and wherein the presterilizing heating of the slurry is accomplished by direct steam injection while agitating the slurry.

4. A process of preparing a strained meat product comprising forming a slurry of strained meat and water and heating the slurry to a presterilization temperature in the approximate range of 280 F. to 320 F. for a period of between 10 and seconds.

5. A process according to claim 4 wherein, after subjection to the presterilization heat, the slurry is evaporatively cooled to the range of 100 F. to 220 F., and then the product is sealed and then retorted.

6. A process according to claim 5 wherein the presterilizing heating of the slurry is accomplished by direct steam injection while agitating the slurry.

7. A process according to claim 4 and wherein the presterilizing heating of the slurry is accomplished by direct steam injection while agitating the slurry.

8. A process for producing strained meat product which comprises comminuting a slurry of meat and water, subjecting the comminuted slurry to heat and violent agitation in the temperature range of 257 F. to 320 F. and at a pressure of about 100 p.s.i.g. and maintaining the slurry at such temperature and pressure for from 10 to 120 seconds, rapidly reducing the pressure to the range of to 56.6 mm. Hg and a temperature of 100 F. to F., homogenizing the slurry, sealing the homogenized slurry in containers, and completing the cooking of the product in containers.

9. A process for producing strained veal product which comprises mixing veal and water, instantaneously preheating the mixture in the range of F. to 205 F., comminuting the preheated mixture, subjecting the comminuted mixture to heat and violent agitation in the temperature range 0f 280 F. to 320, F., and a pressure about 100 p.s.i.g. and holding the product at approximately said last-named temperature and pressure for from 10 to 120 seconds, instantaneously reducing the pressure of the product to the range of 125 to 56.6 mm. Hg, filling the product into containers, and completing cooking of the product in containers.

10. A process for producing strained beef product which comprises comminuting a slurry of beef and water, subjecting the comminuted slurry to heat and agitation at about 284 F. to 320 F. and at a pressure of about References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Balzari Sept. 18, Hooper Oct. 13, Hawk Dec. 27, Hawk et a1. July 3, 

1. A PROCESS OF PREPARING A FOOD PRODUCT WHICH COMPRISES FORMING A SLURRY OF COMMINUTED MEAT AND WATER, AND HEATING THE SLURRY TO A PRESTERILIZATION TEMPERATURE ABOVE THE LAST APPARENT VISCOSITY INVERSION THEREOF AND BELOW CARBONIZATION TEMPERATURE FOR A TIME INTERVAL OF BETWEEN 10 AND 20 SECONDS. 